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American Morning

Westerfield Jurors Take Deliberations over Break Today

Aired August 09, 2002 - 09:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A San Diego jury resuming deliberations this morning on the fate of David Westerfield, accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. Jurors were given the case yesterday, deliberated into the evening, and actually asked to work today. They were supposed to have today off. Now, if convicted, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against Westerfield.
Thelma Gutierrez is standing by live from San Diego with more -- good morning, Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

Well, the jury will not be sequestered during deliberations despite all the publicity that this trial has received. The judge said yesterday he considered that it would be too much of a burden on those jurors in a trial that has lasted 27 days before even going to the jury.

Now, yesterday, the prosecution finished its rebuttal argument, and the prosecutor told jurors that the defense has misstated the evidence during closing arguments in the hopes of perhaps swaying the jury. Lead prosecutor Jeff Dusek talked about Danielle van Dam, and about what she would have told them if she were alive, about her fingerprints, her hair, and fibers found in Westerfield's home and in his motor home. Dusek told jurors, focus on the evidence. He said this case is solidly built on physical evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DUSEK, PROSECUTOR: This is a smoking gun. Right here. This jacket. This is a smoking gun. Danielle's' blood is on that jacket. And after hearing all of the closing arguments yesterday and part of the day before, this wasn't touched, how it got there. This wasn't touched at all. Give me an explanation. You have to be sitting there, give me another explanation of how it got there, please. You didn't hear one, not one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: And the fate of David Westerfield now in the hands of jurors, six men and six women who said on their jury questionnaires that they would be capable of voting for the death penalty if they were to convict David Westerfield of kidnapping and murdering Danielle van Dam -- Paula.

ZAHN: I know these things are impossible to predict, but any sense from any of the experts you've talked in and out of court how long these deliberations might go. After all, these folks were supposed to have today off, and they asked the judge if they could, in fact, deliberate today.

GUTIERREZ: Yes, you are right. They did ask for that extra day. No, there's not really any sense of that, Paula. I mean, it's hard to speculate. Again, this trial has lasted 27 days. The jurors had this huge job ahead of them. They have 199 different exhibits and evidence to go over. They have the testimony of 100 witnesses to go over. Not going to be an easy thing to do. So no word yet as to when they might reach a verdict.

ZAHN: Thelma, thanks so much. Good luck later on today as the court gets back into action.

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